Mahama Ayariga is the Majority Leader of Parliament
Majority Leader of Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has expressed strong support for the Make Africa Borderless Now campaign, emphasising the importance of removing barriers to trade, mobility, and opportunity across the continent.
Delivering a solidarity message at the Presidential & Business Leaders’ Dialogue on Day Three of the 2026 Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD), held under the theme “Empowering SMEs, Women & Youth in Africa’s Single Market: Innovate. Collaborate. Trade,” on Friday, February 6, 2026, he highlighted the historical and personal significance of a borderless Africa.
Drawing from his experience growing up in a border community, he recounted how women in his constituency would attend market days in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Togo without concern for national boundaries.
“As a young boy, I recall carrying timber across Burkina Faso in the middle of the night. We were called smugglers, but we saw ourselves as Pan-Africanists sharing Ghana’s resources with our neighbours,” he said.
Mr Ayariga endorsed the campaign’s vision for a visa-free Africa, open skies, and a single African biometric passport, stressing the need for infrastructure that allows African youth to trade digitally across borders and have mobile money operate seamlessly across the continent. He also highlighted the importance of continental recognition for African degrees and professional qualifications.
Citing his decade-long experience as a member of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mr Ayariga noted that many of the freedoms being advocated for — such as visa-free travel and regional mobility — are already functional at the regional level in West Africa, North Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and other African blocs.
“What is needed now is to integrate the facilities that exist in regional blocs so that all Africans can benefit simultaneously,” he said.
The Majority Leader assured delegates that Ghana’s Parliament is prepared to take legislative action to support the campaign’s goals.
“Our Parliament stands ready to pass all agreements necessary to grant visa-free status to every African. We have been doing that and will do even more,” Ayariga affirmed.
He reiterated his confidence in the campaign’s success: “I believe the vision that informs this campaign can succeed and will succeed. God bless Africa.”
